The Minnesota Vikings enter training camp with plenty of questions. By the time the September 8 opener against the New York Giants kicks off, the Vikings will need to decide on who their starting quarterback should be, whether they need to add depth at the receiver or cornerback, and if Will Reichard is the next great kicker. Oh, and then there’s that guard thing that has been swept under the rug.
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For many teams, decisions like this are an annual tradition at training camp. However, the Vikings have seemed to avoid it since Mike Zimmer’s first season in 2014. With Kirk Cousins signing with the Atlanta Falcons, it feels like the first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell will have the chance to shape the team in his image.
There are several directions he could go. Many believe O’Connell could follow the Sean McVay blueprint from the Los Angeles Rams. However, his best bet may be a different NFC West rival, where Pete Carroll built the Seattle Seahawks into a Super Bowl contender.
Carroll took over in Seattle coming off a 5-11 season under Jim Mora. The ringleader of USC’s rise in the 2000s, Carroll ran his program on competition, which helped lead the Trojans to two national championships with Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Clay Matthews, and a slew of future NFL talent.
Winning national championships at the collegiate level is one thing, but talent is harder to find in the NFL (ask Urban Meyer). With limited ways to acquire talent, Carroll did the next best thing. He accumulated it and decided to have everyone fight it out to earn a spot on the field.
The cream didn’t rise to the top in the first two years. The Seahawks became a revolving door as players came in and out and produced a 14-18 record in Carroll’s first two seasons. However, just as Carroll’s seat was beginning to warm up, some talent began producing.
Seattle acquired Marshawn Lynch from the Buffalo Bills during the 2010 season, and he led the team in rushing with 573 yards and six touchdowns. A pair of safeties, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, began to seize starting roles on defense. The following year, the Seahawks drafted K.J. Wright and Richard Sherman. In 2013, they selected Bobby Wagner in the second round and Russell Wilson in the third.
Wilson became the turning point for the franchise. The Seahawks signed former Green Bay Packers backup Matt Flynn to a three-year, $19.5 million contract in free agency to become their starter in free agency. Flynn would have begun the season as the starter on many teams with no questions asked. But Carroll opened the job up during camp. Wilson beat out Flynn and never let go, and Seattle had a franchise quarterback.
The progress manifested in the standings. The Seahawks went 11-5 and lost in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2013, then went 13-3 and won the Super Bowl in 2014. The Legion of Boom was born, and Seattle came within a bad play call of winning a second Super Bowl the following season.
It was the beginning of a stretch where the Seahawks won double-digit games in eight of nine seasons and were a perennial contender in the NFC.
A more local example could be what Zimmer established a decade ago. The Vikings came into camp looking to rebuild after a 5-10-1 season under Leslie Frazier. Just about every position was up for grabs.
Rookies Teddy Bridgewater and Anthony Barr became the first players to step forward. Then, other young players like Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, and Linval Joseph joined the party as the season progressed. The 2015 draft class included Danielle Hunter, Stefon Diggs, and Eric Kendricks. That group may have popped in 2016 if not for Bridgewater’s career-altering knee injury.
Regardless, the team went 11-5 to win the NFC North in 2015 and rebounded after an 8-8 record in 2016 to go 13-3 and reach the NFC Championship game. Outside factors such as Zimmer’s relationship with offensive coordinators, Cousins’ arrival in 2018, and weird Vikings stuff may have kept the team from reaching its full potential. However, Minnesota still posted double-digit wins and playoff appearances in three of six seasons.
So, where could the Vikings draw inspiration from these teams? The possibilities are littered all over the roster.
The most obvious answer will be at quarterback, where J.J. McCarthy will try to pry the starting job from Sam Darnold. The Vikings have been adamant in their belief that they have an infrastructure that will allow Darnold to take off in a way he couldn’t in New York and Carolina. However, they took McCarthy in the top 10 for a reason.
While it wouldn’t be as shocking as Wilson wrestling the job away from Flynn, it would at least be encouraging as the Vikings put their plan to cultivate McCarthy into full gear if he wins the job out of camp.
There’s another competition brewing along the interior of the offensive line. Minnesota’s coaching staff has been vocal in their support for Blake Brandel. Still, Dalton Risner’s return added another veteran to the mix. Ed Ingram’s grip at right guard could be loose enough to have Brandel start at right guard, and Risner could return to his natural position at left guard. (There’s also Dan Feeney, who has no competition for the best mullet/mustache combo in the NFL. But you can’t have competition everywhere.)
The defensive line has two spots available alongside incumbent Harrison Phillips, and the cornerback room could be a battle royale involving Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans, Andrew Booth Jr., and others for a starting spot across from Shaquill Griffin.
We haven’t even talked about the special teams, which could have its own battle. Will Reichard likely has the edge over John Parker Romo, but punter is up in the air with Ryan Wright attempting to fend off Seth Vernon.
The new kickoff rules could spawn another battle if the Vikings aren’t bought into Kene Nwangwu, and the third receiver position could become especially important if the NFL decides to suspend Jordan Addison.
It’s one thing to go through the roster and identify potential battles, but it’s another when the head coach openly admits that training camp could be something out of a scene from Gladiator.
“It’s going to be a very competitive camp at multiple positions,” O’Connell told media members at a news conference on Monday. “I feel very, very good about our roster and I look at the starting 11 on either side, offensively and defensively and it gets me really excited. But at the same time, I feel there’s some really good, ascending young players on our team that are going to push hard to have a say in who’s ultimately on the field and I do want to have a very competitive training camp.”
It may not be as competitive as when Carroll had Will Ferrell running around USC training camp back in the day. But O’Connell has a chance to put a stamp on his team, and it hinges around the competition that will take place in training camp.
